The Nike Women's Marathon and Half Marathon in San Francisco is one of my favorite races. A benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the event features a beautiful, albeit hilly, course through the city and along the Pacific Ocean. Even better: A Tiffany's necklace is the finisher's medal, distributed by men in tuxedos (really). When I ran the half marathon in 2006, the October weather was perfect, cool but sunny with stunning views appearing through the occasional fog.
Now in its fifth year, the race has become so popular—it filled in three days last year—the organizers are trying something different for registration in 2008. To try to get a spot in this "Run Like a Girl" event on October 19, you must enter a random drawing at NikeMarathon.com today (starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time) through March 18. You'll get an email on April 1 letting you know whether or not you've "won" one of the 20,000 available spots.The only way to get in without going through the random drawing, unless you've run this race every year since its inception and are a "legacy runner," is to join a Team in Training program.
While I commend Nike for trying to be "fair," I'm not sure how I feel about this new approach. What do you think? Is first-come-first-serve race registration really a bad idea?
—Kristin Harrison
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